BORE-MACHINING ATTACHMENT FOR MACHINE TOOL

Abstract

 Provided is a bore-machining attachment for a machine tool that has a B-axis. In the bore-machining attachment (200), which is mounted on a main spindle head (62) having a B-axis, a 10-degree tool holder (250b) is attached to the tip of a body (220) and a bore (F₁) in a workpiece (K₁) that is fixed on a rotating table (80) is machined by a lathe tool (270).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an internal turning attachment for boring a deep hole in a large workpiece.

Background Art

[0002] Conventional vertical lathes include a rotary table that turns about a vertical axis, and perform various processes such as boring, tapping, and milling on upper surface or side surface of a workpiece placed on the rotary table in addition to turning process. One example of such a lathe is a multi-tasking lathe including a spindle head pivotable about a horizontal axis (B-axis) disposed on a tool rest movable in a Z-axial direction. The spindle head has a highly rigid structure, and includes a spindle switchable between a rotatable mode and an un-rotatable locked mode. The spindle is switched to the un-rotatable locked mode to mount a turning tool to the spindle. Then, a turning process is performed on the outer portion, inner portion, end surface of the workpiece placed on the rotary table. When the spindle is switched to the rotatable mode, a milling tool, a drilling tool, or a tapping tool is mounted to the spindle to perform milling, drilling, or tapping. However, the spindle head having high rigidity and pivoting about the B-axis has an outer shape having a large dimension. Such a large spindle head produces interference between the workpiece and the spindle, causing various limitations on the process of inner portions of workpieces to be deeply bored. The following patent document discloses a composite machine tool including a tool rest movable in the Z-axial direction and a ram shaft for an internal deep boring process disposed in the tool rest to be movable parallel to a Z-axis, wherein an inner portion of a workpiece placed on a rotary table is subjected to an internal turning process with a turning tool mounted to the ram shaft to be deeply bored.

Related Art Documents

Patent Document

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-000966.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the turning process of the inner portion of the workpiece to be deeply bored, to provide as wide a range of machinable targets as possible, that is, to machine narrower inner portions of workpieces, the cross-sectional dimension of the ram shaft is reduced while rigidity is somehow sacrificed. Although the ram shaft may be designed to have a large cross-sectional dimension so as not to sacrifice rigidity, this design leads to significant limitation on the workpiece to be machined.

[0005] To solve these problems, another method is examined. In this method, instead of the ram shaft for an internal deep boring process, an internal turning attachment is mounted to the spindle head. This ensures a certain length of a portion projected from the spindle head without sacrificing rigidity.

[0006] However, even an attachment projected by such a certain length from the spindle head causes interference between the spindle head and the entrance of the hole of the workpiece if a portion to be bored is located at a depth deeper than the length of the attachment projected from the spindle head. The interference prevents the blade tip of the tool from reaching the portion to be bored, and prevents the process itself.

[0007] To avoid the interference, it is necessary to increase the length of the attachment projected from the spindle head or the length of a turning tool projected from the attachment.

[0008] However, all of these methods undesirably reduce the rigidity against cutting resistance.

[0009] In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide an internal turning attachment that is mounted on a spindle head in a composite machine tool having control of a B-axis, and can bore a deeper hole in an inner portion of a workpiece located at a depth deeper than the length of the attachment projected from the spindle head.

Means of Solving the Problems

[0010] In order to achieve the above-described object, a machine tool according to the present invention includes a table, a spindle head, a spindle, and an attachment. The table is configured to turn about a vertical axis with a workpiece mounted on the table. The spindle head is disposed above the table and pivotable about a horizontal axis. The spindle is built in the spindle head and configured to rotate about an axis of a tool detachably mounted to the spindle. The attachment is detachably mounted to the spindle head with a dedicated clamp mechanism.

[0011] The attachment includes an attachment base, a body, and a tool holder. The attachment base has a portion to be mounted to the spindle head. The body is fixed to a lower portion of the attachment base. The tool holder is to be mounted to a lower portion of the body. The tool holder has a tool mount surface to which a turning tool is detachably mounted. An angle (hereinafter referred to as "tool mount angle") is changeable. The tool mount angle is an angle between the tool mount surface and a plane perpendicular to an axis of the spindle when the attachment is mounted.

[0012] The tool holder may include a plurality of tool holders mounted at different tool mount angles. The tool holder may be replaced with another tool holder among the plurality of tool holders to change the tool mount angle.

[0013] A turning process may be performed by controlling an angle around a pivot axis of the spindle head such that an angle (β₁) between the axis of the spindle and a vertical line is to be approximately identical to the tool mount angle (β₂).

Effects of the Invention

[0014] The machine tool according to the present invention includes the means above, enabling the deep-cut internal turning process of workpieces whose portion to be bored is located at a depth deeper than the length of the attachment projected from the spindle head.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015] 

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a machine tool including an internal turning attachment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an internal turning attachment mounted on a spindle head.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the internal turning attachment according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structure for mounting the attachment to a spindle head.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state where interference occurs.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a tool holder.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a tool holder.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an operation according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an operation according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of the tool holder.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an automatic replacing device for the tool holder.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a clamp mechanism for the tool holder.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an automatic angle changing mechanism for the tool holder.

Modes for Carrying out the Invention

[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a general arrangement of a machine tool 1 including an internal turning attachment according to the present invention. The machine tool 1 includes a bed 10, and a portal column 20 disposed upright in a center portion of the bed 10 in the longitudinal direction of the bed 10. With respect to the columns 20, a cross rail 30 is disposed to be movable upward and downward in a direction of a vertical W-axis.

[0017] The cross rail 30 has a saddle 40 installed on the cross rail 30 to move on the cross rail 30 along a horizontal Y-axis. A ram 50 is installed on the saddle 40. The ram 50 is controlled to move relative to the cross rail 30 in a direction of a Z-axis parallel to the W-axis. A spindle head support portion 60 is installed to the ram 50 and is rotatably about a vertical C₁ axis.

[0018] A table 70 is disposed on the bed 10 to move on the bed 10 in an X-axial direction. A turning table 80 is embedded into the center portion of the table 70 rotatably about a C₂ axis, which is a rotation axis in the Z-axial direction.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ram 50 and the spindle head support portion 60. A spindle head 62 is provided to the spindle head support portion 60. The spindle head 62 is pivotable about a B-axis perpendicular to the Z-axis. A spindle is rotatably mounted in the spindle head 62.

[0020] An internal turning attachment 200 includes an attachment base 210, a body 220, and a tool holder 250.

[0021] The attachment base 210 in the internal turning attachment 200 is attached to and detached from the spindle head 62.

[0022] The body 220 is fixed to a lower portion of the attachment base 210. The bottom end surface of the body 220 is perpendicular to a spindle axis when the internal turning attachment 200 is mounted to the spindle head 62. The bottom end surface defines a surface for attaching the tool holder 250.

[0023] A turning tool 270 is mounted onto the tool holder 250.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state where a workpiece K₁ mounted to the turning table 80 is machined with the internal turning attachment 200 where the B-axis is 0°. FIG. 3 illustrates a cross section diagram of a workpiece K₁ which cross section is along a rotation center C₂ of the turning table 80 and is parallel to the X-axial direction for easily understanding of interference occurrence between the workpiece K₁ and the spindle head 62. The workpiece K₁ is shown in a similar manner in FIGs. 5, 8, and 9, described later.

[0025] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a structure for detachably attaching the internal turning attachment 200 to the spindle head 62.

[0026] The spindle head 62 includes a spindle 63 in the center of the spindle head 62. A lower end surface of the spindle head 62 includes four grip portions 64.

[0027] The attachment base 210 in the internal turning attachment 200 includes four grip holes 212 facing the respective grip portions 64 disposed in the spindle head 62. The grip portions 64 are inserted into the grip holes 212, and clamped such that the internal turning attachment 200 is mounted to the spindle head 62. The gripping mechanism is similar to the gripping mechanism shown in FIG. 12, described later.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a case where interference occurs between the internal turning attachment 200 and an inner portion F₂ of a workpiece K₂ during the process.

[0029] Specifically, when the spindle head 62 moves downward toward the inner portion F₂, an interference portion G₁ generates between the attachment base 210 in the internal turning attachment 200 and an entrance of the inner portion F₂.

[0030] To avoid the interference, the internal turning attachment 200 according to the present invention includes a 0° tool holder 250a for an angle of 0° around the B-axis, a 10° tool holder 250b for an angle of 10° around the B-axis, and a 15° tool holder 250c for an angle of 15° around the B-axis, as shown in FIG. 6. The respective tool holders are set at angles of 0°, 10°, and 15°. These angles are angles between a tool mount surface N and a plane P perpendicular to the line C₀, with which the spindle axis is aligned, when the attachment is mounted to the spindle. The angle between the plane P and the tool mount surface N is referred to as a tool mount angle.

[0031] Hereinafter, the internal turning attachment 200 having the 0° tool holder 250a mounted to the internal turning attachment 200 is referred to as an internal turning attachment 200a, the internal turning attachment 200 having the 10° tool holder 250b mounted to the internal turning attachment 200 is referred to as an internal turning attachment 200b, and the internal turning attachment 200 having the 15° tool holder 250c mounted to the internal turning attachment 200 is referred to as an internal turning attachment 200c.

[0032] FIG. 7 is a view of a tool holder 250 for manual replacement, illustrating a structure of the tool holder 250 to be mounted to an attachment body 220 with a mount flange 252 of the tool holder 250 and six bolts 253.

[0033] When the same workpiece is continuously machined and the frequency of set-up is low, the tool holder for manually replacement also can sufficiently exhibit the effect at low cost.

[0034] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state where the 10° tool holder 250b having the tool mount angle of 10° expressed by β₂ is mounted to the body 220, and the spindle head 62 is 10° pivoted about the B-axis expressed by β₁ and positioned.

[0035] The spindle head is pivoted and positioned about B-axis of the spindle head by an identical angle to the tool mount angle such that the blade tip of the turning tool mounted to the tool holder may contact the workpiece at a right angle.

[0036] In this state, the blade tip of the tool is brought into contact with the inner portion F₂ of the workpiece K₂ with the turning table 80 being rotated. This operation avoids the interference between the internal turning attachment 200b and the inner portion F₂, machining the workpiece without fail.

[0037] Specifically, when the portion to be bored is located at a depth deeper than a length L of the attachment projected from the spindle head and the angle of 0° is set about B-axis, the attachment base undesirably interferes with the workpiece. To avoid this interference, the position of the B-axis of the spindle head is slightly changed to dispose the spindle head spaced from the workpiece. This changed position of the B-axis also changes the angle between the tool and the workpiece. To correct the change in the angle, the tool mount angle is changed as above.

[0038] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state where the 15° tool holder 250c is mounted to the body 220, and the spindle head 62 is pivoted about the B-axis at 15° and clamped.

[0039] Thus, as the angle to pivot about the B-axis is greater, the distance between the spindle head and the workpiece is longer. Meanwhile, the spindle head side opposite to the blade tip may possibly interfere with the workpiece. However, as in this example, when the workpiece has a sufficiently large inner diameter, the inner portion of the workpiece is machined without interference between the workpiece K₃ and the spindle head side if the B-axis angle is further changed.

[0040] Thus, the tool mount angle is properly selected depending on the workpiece and the B-axis is positioned in accordance with the tool mount angle. Then, the workpiece is subjected to the internal turning process of the workpiece to bore a deep hole in the workpiece without sacrificing rigidity and producing interference.

[0041] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a single tool holder 300, which is capable of adjusting the mount angle of the turning tool 270.

[0042] The turning tool 270 is fixed to a tool mounting member 305, and the tool mounting member 305 is mounted to the body mounting member 302 pivotably about a pin not shown. The tool mounting member 305 and the body mounting member 302 respectively include angle bolt holes and tapped holes to fix the tool mount angles of 0°, 10°, and 15°, respectively. A bolt 310 is screwed into the leftmost bolt hole in (a) in the diagram to fix the turning tool 270 at 0°, into the central bolt hole in (b) in the diagram to fix the turning tool 270 at 10°, and into the rightmost bolt hole in (c) in the diagram to fix the turning tool 270 at 15°.

[0043] The turning tool 270 may be designed such that the tool mount angle is changed to any angle.

[0044] The tool holder of this type is also effective when the frequency of set-up is lower. Additionally, the tool holder of this type may not necessarily be provided in plural, which is advantageous in cost.

[0045] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the internal turning attachment having a structure enabling automatic replacement of the tool holders with respect to the attachment having different tool mount angles.

[0046] A tool holder automatic replacement type internal turning attachment 400 includes an attachment base 410 and a body 420 mounted to the attachment base 410. The distal end portion of the body 420 has a grip portion 430. The grip portion 430 is mechanically operated to automatically replace the tool holders 450 having different turning tool mount angles. Specifically, a tool holder storage is disposed within a spindle movable area. The tool holder storage includes a plurality of stands, and the respective tool holders are horizontally placed on the stands with the mount flange facing upward. After the tool holder automatic replacement type internal turning attachment 400 is placed on an empty stand and positioned, the grip portion 430 is unclamped to release the tool holder onto the stand. Then, the attachment 400 is positioned for another tool holder placed on another stand, and the grip portion 430 is clamped. Thus, the tool holder 450 is automatically replaced.

[0047] Thus, two or more tool holders having different tool mount angles are kept within the spindle movable area, and automatically replaced. This enables frequent set-up and the processing of different portions in the same workpiece with the attachments having different tool mount angles. When the workpiece is machined with the tool holder having a tool mount angle of 10° or 15° and with the angle about the B-axis set to be 10° or 15°, X-axial direction component of the length from an attachment support portion to the blade tip is slightly longer than that at an angle of 0° around the B-axis, causing disadvantages in rigidity. When chattering occurs, and if no interference occurs between the 0° tool holder and the workpiece, the 0° tool holder may be used to attain good process results.

[0048] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a gripping mechanism for the grip portion 430 in detail.

[0049] The tool holder 450 includes a grip hole 437 having a protrusion portion 438.

[0050] The grip portion 430 includes a hydraulic chamber 432a having a drawbar 431 and a piston 432 integrated with the drawbar 431. Hydraulic pressure is applied to the hydraulic chamber 432a from the spindle side via a passage 432b. The tool holder 450 is pushed with the drawbar 431 to release the clamp, and a ball 434 is accommodated into a depression portion 435 such that the tool holder 450 is unclamped. When hydraulic pressure is not applied, a spring 433 moves the drawbar 431 in a direction to draw back the tool holder 450, and the ball 434 grasps the tool holder 450.

[0051] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the internal turning attachment having a structure in which a driving force of the spindle is utilized to automatically change the tool mount angle of the tool holder.

[0052] A tool holder rotating type internal turning attachment 500 includes an attachment base 510 to be mounted to the spindle head 62. The attachment base 510 includes a spindle shank 530 in the center portion of the attachment base 510, and is inserted into the spindle in the spindle head 62. The rotational force of the spindle shank 530 is transmitted via a drive shaft 540 to a bevel gear 550 disposed in the distal end portion of the body 520. Together with a tool holder 570, a support shaft 562 mounted to the body 520 supports a bevel gear 560 to mesh the bevel gear 560 with the bevel gear 550. Thus, the rotation of the bevel gear 550 is changed by 90°, and transmitted to the bevel gear 560. The rotation of the bevel gear 560 automatically changes the tool mount angle in the tool holder 570, which supports a turning tool 580.

[0053] As has been described hereinbefore, the tool mount angle is changed by the rotation of the spindle. The rotational angle of the spindle is controlled to set the mount angle at any angle. The tool mount angle is changed to any angle to avoid the interference between the workpiece and the attachment as occasion arises. Such a configuration increases the freedom of the program for the process. Additionally, chattering can be eliminated by adjusting the tool amount angle slightly.

[0054] The automatic change of the tool mount angle leads to improved process efficiency because the process conditions including the tool mount angle can be freely changed while one workpiece is being machined.

[0055] Thus, by controlling the B-axis of the spindle head in the machine tool, the internal turning attachment according to the present invention can deep cut an inner portion of a workpiece to be bored which is located at a depth deeper than the length of the attachment projected from the spindle head.

Description of the Reference Numeral

[0056] 

1

Machine tool

10

Bed

20

Column

30

Cross rail

40

Saddle

50

Ram

60

Spindle head support portion

62

Spindle head

63

Spindle

64

Grip portion

70

Table

80

Rotary table

200

Internal turning attachment

210

Attachment base

212

Grip hole

220

Body

250

Tool holder

250a

0° tool holder

250b

10° tool holder

250c

15° tool holder

252

Mount flange

253

Bolt

270

Turning tool

300

Tool holder

302

Body mounting member

305

Tool mounting member

310

Bolt

400

Tool holder automatic replacement type internal turning attachment

410

Attachment base

420

Body

430

Grip portion

431

Drawbar

432

Piston

432a

Hydraulic chamber

432b

Passage

433

Spring

434

Ball

435

Depression portion

437

Grip hole

438

Protrusion portion

450

Tool holder

500

Tool holder rotating type internal turning attachment

510

Attachment base

520

Body

530

Spindle shank

540

Drive shaft

550

Bevel gear

560

Bevel gear

562

Support shaft

570

Tool holder

580

Turning tool

K₁

Workpiece

F₁

Inner portion

G₁

Interference portion

Claims

1. A machine tool comprising:

a table configured to turn about a vertical axis with a workpiece mounted on the table;

a spindle head disposed above the table and pivotable about a horizontal axis;

a spindle built in the spindle head and configured to rotate about an axis of a tool detachably mounted to the spindle; and

an attachment detachably mounted to the spindle head with a dedicated clamp mechanism,

wherein the attachment comprises

an attachment base having a portion to be mounted to the spindle head,

a body fixed to a lower portion of the attachment base, and

a tool holder to be mounted to a lower portion of the body,

wherein the tool holder has a tool mount surface to which a turning tool is detachably mounted, and

wherein a tool mount angle is changeable, the tool mount angle being an angle between the tool mount surface and a plane perpendicular to an axis of the spindle when the attachment is mounted.

2. The machine tool according to claim 1, the machine tool further comprising
a plurality of tool holders mounted at different tool mount angles (β₂), and
wherein the tool holder is replaced with another tool holder among the plurality of tool holders to change the tool mount angle (β₂).

3. The machine tool according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a turning process is performed by determining an angle for the spindle head about a pivot axis such that an angle (β₁) between the axis of the spindle and a vertical line is to be approximately identical to the tool mount angle (β₂).

Drawing